Mayor Bob Foster took hands-on approach with Port of Long Beach

LONG BEACH — Some of Mayor Bob Foster's most controversial stances revolved around the Port of Long Beach.

While the port is run by the city's Harbor Department, some say the port functions best when it's managed as if it were a private business and at arm's length from the city.

Foster's more hands-on approach - including nixing a deal for a new port headquarters - was criticized by some who felt the agency should be run more independently.

"I've been in Long Beach for 72 years and at no time have I ever known the city to get into the port's business, except now," former Harbor Commissioner and former City Councilwoman Doris Topsy-Elvord told the Press-Telegram in October. "And I have never known a mayor to try to direct where the money goes."

John McLaurin, president of Pacific Maritime Shipping Association representing terminal operators and others, has also been vocal about the mayor's approach.

"(Foster's leadership) was more activist that what we've seen with prior mayors," McLaurin said Tuesday. "There was more of a tendency by the city to stay out of its affairs. That changed under Bob's leadership."

The mayor exercised a rarely used veto in 2010 to stop the construction of what supposed to be the port's new headquarters. The new $220 million facility to be located at 925 Harbor Plaza was deemed a "Taj Mahal" by Foster, who pointed to larger oversight issues at the nation's second busiest seaport.

"I worry about the culture in the port," he said in a 2012 interview with the Press-Telegram. "I think they've had a lot of money and they've been very complacent. There has been no effective oversight of them. Harbor commissioners haven't provided it and the city hasn't provided it."

Foster's direct approach ruffled feathers, some observers said.

Long Beach Harbor Commissioner Rich Dines, who was appointed by the mayor onto the commission, said Foster showed a "political courage and unapologetic style of leadership."

"The thing that stands out about Bob is that he's not a politician," said Dines. "That's why I think to some people he comes across as a little rough or abrasive. That's who he is as an individual. He's very much a leader."

Dines said Tuesday that Foster has been supportive of the port, especially on environmental issues. He pointed to the mayor's hard stance on the Clean Trucks Program.

"Every resident in the city of Long Beach has benefitted from having cleaner diesel trucks on the road," he said. "Mayor Bob Foster has been a wonderful champion for the Port of Long Beach."